Nigerian Judge Adjourns Binance Tax Evasion Case to May 12 Amid Regulatory Crackdown

The Federal High Court in Abuja has again adjourned the tax evasion case the Nigerian Government brought against Binance, the world’s largest crypto spot exchange.

On Wednesday, April 30, 2025, Justice Emeka Nwite of the Nigerian Federal High Court adjourned the Nigeria-Binance case to May 12, 2025. Similarly, the court granted the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) permission to serve court documents via email to Binance.

This latest adjournment comes after Justice Inyang Edem Ekwo of the same Federal High Court had previously adjourned the case to April 30, 2025, due to a dispute over court jurisdiction.

Binance, through its lawyer, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, asked the court to invalidate the order allowing the Nigerian FIRS to send Binance court documents via email.

Furthermore, Mr Chukwuka stated that the Nigerian tax authority did not get a leave of court, which would have allowed the tax authority to serve any document to entities like Binance that don’t have a physical office in Nigeria.

So, on April 7, 2025, the court adjourned the case, granting Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) time to respond to the order.

In response, the FIRS lawyer, Kanu Agabi, said that Binance’s lawyers in Nigeria could also be served with court summons on behalf of the company as they are the company’s representatives.

Mr Kanu further buttressed his case by saying that Binance has a significant economic presence by operating an online platform that provides virtual currency transactions to Nigerians.

Nigerian Government Blames Binance for Economic Woes and Naira Instability

The legal battle between Nigeria and Binance started when the Government detained two Binance executives because the company provided financial services to Nigerians without proper registration.

Additionally, the Government argued that Binance conducted unregulated fixing of peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange rates that contributed to the incessant fall of the country’s local currency, the Naira.

The Nigerian Government concluded that this contributed to the country’s economic woes. Accordingly, the Federal Government approached the court to direct Binance to pay the Government $79.5 billion in damages and $2 billion in unpaid taxes and interest.

Although Binance is yet to respond officially to the tax evasion case, it has previously stated that it is working with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to resolve potential historic tax liabilities.

Nigerian Finance Watchdogs Intensify War Against Unregulated Financial Service Providers

Since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed the Investment and Securities Act (ISA 2025) into law, the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and other finance watchdogs have been working to implement its details.

As part of the little efforts already committed, recently, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared eight Nigerians and Kenyans wanted for their roles in promoting the CBEX Ponzi scheme. The commission also released their names and last known locations to the public.

This crackdown came after the Nigerian SEC announced that CBEX provided Nigerians with unauthorized financial services.